


The Art Of Being Subtle

by odessasbluecoat



Category: Into the Badlands (TV)
Genre: F/F, this is some silly gay shit with no serious plot whatsoever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 07:09:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15552369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odessasbluecoat/pseuds/odessasbluecoat
Summary: Tilda and Odessa are just great at keeping their relationship a secret! Or, are they?Odessa is being a lil shit and Tilda's just trying to keep it all together.The Widow doesn't suspect anything for sure....This is just a silly gay fic for the laughs. We deserve some happiness, don't we?Enjoy! This might actually suck, but aye I love them and miss them so *shrug emoji*send me prompts on Tumblr pls! - rogueodessa -





	The Art Of Being Subtle

Ever since Tilda and Odessa had shared that conversation on the bench, something had changed. Well, obviously. Odessa smiled as she thought about the kiss. She'd been scared Tilda didn't feel the same way. But thankfully, she hadn't misread the signs. What did worry her though, was what Tilda had told her. She had been badly hurt in her past, which was obviously still haunting her. Odessa knew what that was like, to carry something like that around. She just wanted to take that pain away.  
  
Odessa was sitting in the Sanctuary's big common room, a room which was nicely decorated, somewhere they could take a breath between all the bloodshed. She was sitting on the couch nearest to the fireplace, her favourite spot. There was something about fire that fascinated her. It was so beautiful and destructively powerful at the same time.  
  
Odessa looked around the room and saw other girls either being engaged in conversation or reading a book. One of the Sanctuary’s perks was that it had a library, which was well preserved.  
  
Eventually, her eyes locked with Tilda's, who was standing next to the door. Tilda smiled at her and subtly nodded with her head towards the door opening, before disappearing through it. Odessa looked around, making sure nobody had seen their little exchange, and followed her.  
  
What she didn’t see, though, was that the Widow was watching them knowingly from the other room across the hallway.  
  
Tilda had already left the hallway, but Odessa knew where she was going. Well, she was pretty sure she did. She walked up the stairs and stood still in front of one of the doors, Tilda’s room. Odessa opened the door with no hesitation and stepped inside. Tilda was looking through the window, exactly like the first time Odessa had walked into the room.  
  
“Hey.” Tilda said as she turned around to face her.  
  
Odessa closed the door behind her and made her way to Tilda.  
  
“You requested my presence?” Odessa flashed her trademark smirk.  
  
That made Tilda laugh and shake her head in disbelief. She’d never met anyone like Odessa, someone who didn't care about any rules whatsoever. It felt liberating.  
  
“You okay?” Odessa asked when Tilda didn’t answer her.  
  
“Yes.” Tilda nodded and looked at her.  
  
“So…” Odessa began and looked at Tilda as if she was waiting for her to say something.  
  
“Did the Widow talk to you?” Odessa continued.  
  
Tilda looked confused at the question.  
  
“About what Waldo saw?” Odessa raised her eyebrows. She almost expected Waldo to appear out of thin air to interrupt them again.  
  
“Oh! No. I don’t think he’s going to tell her, actually.”  
  
It shouldn’t have surprised Odessa, Waldo and the Widow weren’t exactly best friends after all. She thought about it for a second and nodded her head.  
  
“Aren’t you worried?” Odessa asked after a short silence.  
  
Tilda shrugged and sighed.  
  
“I don’t know. But-” She paused and looked up at Odessa. “I’m Regent. We might have to keep it quiet for a while.” Tilda looked at her but couldn’t quite decipher the expression on Odessa’s face.  
  
“Is that okay?” She asked carefully.  
  
Odessa reached forward to grab Tilda’s hand and slowly pulled her towards her.  
  
“I get it.” Odessa said as she pulled her even closer.   
  
“But that doesn’t mean we can’t do  _this_ anymore, does it?” Her smirk returned on her face as she leaned down to kiss Tilda’s lips. Tilda was surprised but happily kissed her back. This was so new and definitely something she'd secretly been wanting.  
  
Odessa pulled back and sighed blissfully.  
  
"I should go back and get ready for bed." Odessa said regretfully, but suddenly her expression turned a bit mischievous.  
  
"Or....I could stay in your room?" Odessa had a playful yet dangerous look in her eyes. Tilda stared at her and suddenly found it difficult to form an English sentence.  
  
"Odessa!" Tilda whispered as if the Widow was standing in the same room.  
  
Odessa laughed softly and let go of her hand.  
  
"I'm joking." Odessa said with a teasing smile on her face and made her way to the door before turning around again.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She looked at Tilda one last time and closed the door.  
  
Tilda stared at the door for a few more seconds and tried to fight the smile that was threatening to form on her lips.

 

* * *

  
  
Odessa was really trying to pay attention. She really was, but this meeting was just too goddamn boring. It wasn't even a meeting, it was more like they were being forced to listen to an hour long speech by the Widow. The Butterflies were all there, facing the Widow and Tilda who were standing next to a big board filled with scribbles, strategies, Odessa assumed. Odessa was zoning out again and blocked out the sound of the Widow's voice. She instead focussed on Tilda and the cute serious expression on her face. Odessa grinned and tried to catch her eyes. When Tilda finally looked up, Odessa playfully raised her eyebrows. Tilda's gaze snapped towards the Widow, probably making sure she hadn't seen anything before returning Odessa's gaze and subtly shaking her head.  
  
Just at that moment, the Widow turned around to write something down on the board.  
  
And then Odessa pulled out the big guns and winked at Tilda, who, bless her, was trying so hard to keep a neutral expression on her face.  
  
"Tilda?" The Widow suddenly asked and Tilda looked startled and quickly tried to get rid of the blush on her cheeks.  
  
"Yes, Mother?" Tilda said as professionally as she could.  
  
"So, what do you think we should do? Attack from the right or from the left side?" The Widow put her pen down and patiently waited for her answer.  
  
Odessa saw Tilda's eyes widen for a second, but she could've imagined it.  
  
"The right side." Tilda suggested, and looked at the scribbles on the board next to her and squinted her eyes. Odessa knew she had no idea what they were talking about. She chuckled and bit her lip to prevent herself from making any sound.  
  
"Right." The Widow said and turned around towards the board again to add some scribbles to her strategy.  
  
Tilda looked relieved but turned to Odessa to give her a warning glare, to which she replied with a playful eyeroll.  
  
"Odessa, was it?" The Widow suddenly asked and Odessa almost choked on air.  
  
"Yes." Odessa replied, while trying to ignore the terrified expression on Tilda's face.  
  
"I'd like to hear your thoughts."  
  
My thoughts? Odessa wondered for a second. And then her gaze fell onto the board, oh! She saw some badly drawn trees and suddenly had an idea.  
  
"I recommend taking the left side. We'd have an advantage on the dark side of the forest." Odessa said sincerely and Tilda just stared at her with open mouth.  
  
"Excellent, great thinking." The Widow looked pleased and turned around again.  
  
Odessa shrugged and smirked in reply to Tilda's stare, looking pleased with herself.  
  
"Okay, great. Get some rest, it's going to be a long day tomorrow." The Widow dismissed them and walked towards her desk. Tilda stayed behind after the Butterflies had left the room. She knew she liked to discuss some things after meetings.  
  
"What do you think of Odessa?" The Widow asked her and Tilda suddenly had to repress a coughing fit.  
  
"I'm sorry?" Tilda asked, breathlessly, when she was able to speak again.  
  
"Odessa, she's showing promise, don't you think?"  
  
Tilda's braincells were unable to communicate for a full 2 seconds and all that flashed through her head were images of Odessa winking at her and flashing that shit eating grin.  
  
"Yes, she's doing well."  
  
The Widow nodded and studied her for what felt like a few minutes.  
  
“Are you alright? You seem a bit distracted.” The Widow asked her with a hint of worry in her voice.  
  
“Yes, just a bit tired.” Tilda answered carefully.  
  
“Go get some rest.” The Widow dismissed her and Tilda nodded before turning around, relieved. The Widow watched her leave the room with a small smile on her face.

 

* * *

  
  
Tilda quickly made her way to her room, she couldn’t wait to let herself fall down onto her bed and not move for the next couple of years. She opened the door and closed it with a relieved sigh. Finally. However, when she turned around there was another surprise waiting for her. Odessa was casually leaning against the wall next to the window.  
  
“Odessa?”  
  
“Hey.” Odessa answered innocently.  
  
Tilda sighed and walked forward to sit onto her bed.  
  
“How many rules are you going to break today?”  
  
Odessa pushed herself off the wall and sat down next to Tilda.  
  
“To be fair, this is the first rule I’ve broken all day.” Odessa paused and turned her head to look at Tilda. “Oh, actually, I might have eaten a bit more than allowed during lunch this afternoon.”  
  
Tilda’s lips turned upwards a little bit but the frown didn’t go away.  
  
“Hey.” Odessa said and let her hand rest on Tilda’s knee. “I’m sorry about the meeting. It was just incredibly boring.”  
  
Tilda looked at Odessa’s hand on her knee and waited for Odessa to continue speaking.  
  
“And you looked very cute.”  
  
This made Tilda look up at her with one eyebrow raised and Odessa just smiled innocently at her.  
  
"I heard you think I'm showing promise?" Odessa smirked at her.  
  
"You heard that?" Tilda shouldn't have been surprised, but she was.  
"You impressed her today." Tilda shook her head at the irony of it all.  
  
"Why so surprised?" Odessa teased her.  
  
Tilda just stared at her. Again in awe of Odessa and her free spirit. It made her feel like she could be like that too. Free of all the rules and duties. It sounded like a dream. Her eyes had dropped to Odessa's lips and without realising it she was moving closer to her. Odessa met her halfway and placed one hand on Tilda's cheek, the other one still on her knee. She opened her mouth a bit and gained a soft moan from Tilda. Odessa smiled against her lips when she felt Tilda putting her hand in her hair again, just like she had done on the bench. It was moments like this that Tilda had longed for. These moments of bliss when she didn't have to think about all her responsibilities. She could just be.  
  
Eventually, they pulled back and Odessa slowly let herself fall backwards onto Tilda's bed. She hadn't realized how truly exhausted she was. Tilda joined her and released a soft sigh. They talked for a while until they both fell asleep.  
  
 

  
  
"Tilda? Are you there?" Someone was knocking on the door and startled Tilda awake. She abruptly sat up. Well, at least she tried to, but she soon realized she was being restrained by an arm wrapped around her torso. Odessa was still fast asleep and had somehow turned to use Tilda's shoulder as a pillow.  
  
The knocking continued, this time more impatiently.  
  
"I'll be right there!" Tilda said as she gently tried to shake Odessa awake.  
  
"Odessa!" She whispered with force, but not too loud for the girl behind the door to hear her.  
  
When Odessa wouldn't budge, Tilda slowly removed her arm and sat up. Shit! She had to think fast. Odessa couldn't be seen in her room, let alone her BED.  
  
She grabbed a blanket off the end of her bed and threw it over Odessa without a second thought. Now only her head poked out but wouldn't be visible from the door opening. Yes, nobody would suspect a thing.  
  
Tilda almost ran towards the door and finally opened it to see one of the Butterflies standing there with an annoyed expression on her face.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Have you seen Odessa? We can't find her." The girl looked tired as if she'd been searching for a while and Tilda felt kinda bad.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. Have you checked outside?" Tilda said as casually as she could.  
  
"Not yet." The girl sighed. "The Widow wants to speak with her."  
  
Tilda's brain stopped working for a second as she tried to keep a neutral expression on her face.  
  
"Oh! I'll tell her that if I see her. Thank you." Tilda said and hastily closed the door. Shit. What does the Widow want? Tilda took a deep breath and turned around to look at the oblivious girl in her bed.  
  
When she approached her, she saw that she was slowly blinking the sleep away from her eyes. Tilda would find that adorable if she wasn't in the middle of an almost panic attack.  
  
"Tilda?" Odessa mumbled and stretched her arm out to find her, but failed. She opened her eyes with a confused expression on her face.  
  
"What's going on?" She asked when she saw Tilda standing next to the bed.  
  
"The Widow wants to see you." Tilda said so uncertain it almost sounded like a question.  
  
"What? Why?" Odessa sat up and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.  
  
"I don't know." Tilda breathed out and thought through multiple scenarios.  
  
Odessa looked at her with an uncertain look in her eyes, and Tilda realised she hadn't seen her look scared before.  
  
"It's probably about what you said during the meeting yesterday. Remember, she was impressed." Tilda tried to reassure her. The Widow couldn't possibly have figured out about their relationship...,right?  
  
"You should probably go." Tilda said with a knot in her stomach.  
  
Odessa nodded in response. She stood up and tried to adjust her coat. She suddenly wished she'd changed into something else before passing out the night before. Tilda came closer and reached out to help her make her blue Butterfly coat look more presentable.  
  
"It's going to be fine." Tilda said softly and held Odessa's hand. "She doesn't know anything. She can't." She said firmly, almost like she was trying to convince herself. Tilda knew it was almost impossible to keep things from the Widow, but she hoped that this time she somehow actually didn't know. Odessa softly squeezed Tilda's hand and let go. She hated to admit it, but the thought of meeting with the Widow alone actually kind of terrified her. Odessa walked to the door and looked back one more time to give her a small but reassuring smile. Tilda wished she could be there or in the next room, but she had to help the other girls train and prepare for their mission. She sighed as Odessa disappeared through the door opening. Tilda grabbed her weapons off the table and went outside. Maybe training would distract her a little bit.  
  
   
  
It didn't. Her head was somewhere else completely, and it showed. She wasn't as quick and smooth as usual. Tilda missed her opponent's sword just barely and one time it grazed her upper arm, leaving a small but nasty cut. But she didn't care. All she thought about was why Odessa hadn't returned yet and what the Widow could possibly be discussing with her that would take this long.  
  
"Let's take a break." Tilda announced and the others nodded at her. She walked across the field towards the Sanctuary when she suddenly spotted Odessa walking towards her. She sighed in relief, at least she was still alive.  
  
"Odessa! How did it go?" Tilda asked when she got closer to her.  
  
"Can we talk in private?" Odessa whispered and looked around to see the blue coloured Butterflies everywhere across the field.  
  
Tilda nodded, she knew exactly where they could talk.  
  
   
  
When they arrived at the garden with the beautiful fountain they sat down on the white bench. It was the exact same bench as last time, Tilda recalled, and she felt her heart flutter at the memory.  
  
"So?" Tilda asked impatiently when Odessa just stared at her. She was caught off guard when she suddenly felt Odessa's lips on hers. And she forgot what she had been so worried about just a few seconds before. Odessa pulled her closer and let her hand rest on her waist. She leaned into her as much as she could to let their bodies touch and Tilda's breath hitched. Odessa smiled into the kiss.  
  
Eventually, Tilda pulled away and took a shaky breath.  
  
"What was that for?" She looked at the girl who was still sitting very closely to her.  
  
"Because I can." Odessa answered with a smirk on her face. "And because the Widow doesn't suspect anything."  
  
"She doesn't?" Tilda asked surprised and relieved at the same time.  
  
"Why did she want to see you?"  
  
"She wanted to know how I was doing." Odessa shrugged and looked at the fountain in the water. "And how the other girls are settling in." Odessa would always have a special connection to the girls, because of their horrible shared past.  
  
Tilda nodded thoughtfully, they hadn't really talked about that before.  
  
"How are they?" Tilda asked and thought back to when she introduced Odessa to the Widow.  
  
"They're doing okay. But I heard some of them still have terrible nightmares."  
  
"Do you?" Tilda asked her carefully.  
  
Odessa was quiet for a second and seemed to be lost in thoughts, or rather, memories.  
  
"Yes." She paused. "But not last night, I slept really well." Odessa looked back at Tilda and gave her a small reassuring smile. She wondered if her good night's rest had something to do with the girl sleeping next to her. Odessa looked down and suddenly realised they'd been holding hands. She slowly traced a pattern across the back of Tilda's hand, but pulled away when they both got startled by the sudden sounds of footsteps and voices. Tilda quickly stood up and suddenly remembered what she was supposed to be doing. Right, training.  
  
She let the intruders pass before she spoke. "Are you going to train with us?"  
  
Odessa nodded and joined her.  
  
Tilda's head was suddenly back in the game.

 

* * *

 

  
   
That night, after a very successful raid, the Butterflies entered the common room with relieved and hopeful expressions on their faces. It had gone as planned and Tilda couldn't be more proud of the girls. They were chatting excitedly about their victory and were basically lining up to discuss things with Tilda.  
  
Odessa was casually leaning against the wall, smirking as she took in the scene in front of her. "Tilda! How did I do?" "Did you see how I knocked him out, Tilda?" "Tilda, did you see how I did that?"  
  
Tilda was overwhelmed and tried to send an SOS to Odessa with her eyes. Odessa took the hint and nodded. She suddenly held onto her wrist and cried out in pain.  
  
"Tilda, I think something is wrong with my wrist." Odessa said surprisingly convincing. Suddenly, all the girls were quiet and let Tilda through to get to Odessa. "I'll take you to the medical room." Tilda said after acting as if she had inspected the injury. They left the room in silence and made their way to the direction of the medical room. However, after making sure nobody was following them, they quickly opened the first door they saw and stepped inside. Once they closed the door and were finally alone again, Tilda started giggling uncharacteristically. She had never done anything like that. She liked being Regent and someone the other girls could look up to, but sometimes she just wanted to escape. Odessa looked at her with an amused expression on her face.  
  
"You're cute." Odessa pretty much stated.  
  
Tilda didn't reply and looked at her in surprise at the sudden comment. Odessa had that mischievous look in her eyes again when she walked closer to her. Tilda automatically took a step back to give her some space but felt the cold, hard material of the wall hitting her back. _Oh shit._ Odessa put her hand on the wall next to Tilda to support herself as she leaned forward. _Oh shit, indeed._ She closed her eyes in anticipation of the kiss but opened them again in surprise when she felt lips on her neck instead. Odessa slowly made her way to Tilda's jaw, earning a soft moan from the girl.

It was then when Tilda looked over Odessa's shoulder and saw where they actually were. The Widow's study. Her eyes widened in realization and fear.  
  
"Fuck." Tilda breathed out. They were NOT supposed to be there.  
  
Odessa smiled against her skin and took her swearing as a sign to keep going. She returned her lips to Tilda's pulse point and gently sucked on it.  
  
“Odessa?” She whispered too softly, her pulse was going wild for various reasons.  
  
Odessa just hummed in reply and kept going.  
  
But then, suddenly, the door opened and Odessa lost her grip on the wall which made her lose her balance and fall head first against the hard concrete. Fuck.  
  
Tilda stared at the intruder with wide eyes. _Shit._  
  
The Widow looked back at her with an unreadable expression on her face.  
  
“Hi.” Tilda choked out after an awkward moment of silence. The only sound in the room came from Odessa silently cursing herself as she tried to stop her nose from bleeding.  
  
The Widow stared at them for a moment, almost looking amused, and continued her way to her desk to grab a piece of paper. Tilda and Odessa just stood there, not knowing what to say. Odessa cursed when blood dripped on the ground and Tilda stared at her with concern written on her face.  
  
“You should probably get that checked out.” The Widow said without looking up.  
  
“Go.” Tilda whispered when Odessa looked at her with a questioning look. After Odessa had left the room, covering her nose with both her hands, the awkward silence returned.  
  
“So….” Tilda tried, looking paler than ever.  
  
“I need help with this. Could you give me a hand?” The Widow said at the same time.  
  
Tilda reluctantly walked towards her, wondering if she’d actually not seen Odessa almost having her neck for dinner just a minute ago.  
  
“The trucks we raided were filled with some interesting objects.” The Widow said as she read through a list she was holding in her hands.  
  
“Are…are we not going to talk about it?” Tilda asked carefully.  
  
“About what?” The Widow kept reading but eventually looked up when Tilda didn’t answer her.  
  
“Odessa? Did you think I didn’t know?” The Widow laughed and put the piece of paper away on the desk.  
  
Tilda stared at her with open mouth.  
  
“What?” She couldn’t believe it. They had been careful…., right?  
  
“You don’t….mind?” Tilda asked her cautiously.  
  
The Widow leaned against her desk and looked at her.  
  
“You’re my Regent. Is she going to be a distraction?”  
  
Tilda swallowed and shook her head.  
"I promise she won't."  
  
The Widow nodded thoughtfully.

  
"Good."

  
She picked up the list again but tilted her head to look at Tilda when she didn't move.  
"Well, what are you still doing here?"   
  
Tilda looked confused, but before she could say anything The Widow continued.  
  
"Aren't you going to check on her?" The Widow asked as if it was obvious. She could tell Tilda wanted to flee the room as soon as possible.  
  
Tilda gave her a grateful smile and quickly turned around to exit the room.  
  
  
Tilda rushed to the medical room, which was only a few doors away. When she walked in she saw Odessa sitting on a chair, holding a tissue to her nose. The nurse collected a pile of bloody tissues and threw them all in a bin. She nodded at Tilda when she saw her and went to the back of the room to take care of another patient.

 

 

"Are you okay?" Tilda asked as she took a seat on the chair opposite to Odessa.

"Fine." Odessa replied, annoyed with herself.

"How'd it go?" Odessa asked as she threw another bloody tissue away and grabbed a clean one. Tilda sighed and took the tissue from her hand and carefully held it to Odessa's nose.

"She somehow already knew." Tilda said, still processing what happened.

"What?" Odessa said but moved a bit too much and hissed in pain.

"Don't move." Tilda whispered and gently got rid of some blood.

"She's okay with it." Tilda continued with a smile on her face.

"But-" Tilda started and Odessa looked up in concern, expecting the worst. 

"No more distractions during meetings. I need to show her I can still do my job." 

 Odessa huffed in reply but eventually nodded in understanding.

Tilda gently touched Odessa's nose with the tissue, which was already soaked with blood. She threw it in the bin and grabbed a new one.

"Does it hurt?" She asked as she applied a bit more pressure.

"It's fine." Odessa said without looking at her. The only thing that was truly hurt was her dignity. Tilda could tell she was embarrassed.

"So, Is this your first battlewound?" Tilda playfully teased. And Odessa looked up as if she was about to say something but instead she clenched her jaw and frowned.  
Tilda laughed quietly at her expression.

"I'm kidding. I'm sorry." Tilda said and sighed when she had to throw away another bloody tissue.

"You know..." Tilda said as she grabbed another clean tissue off the table and faced Odessa again. 

"I really hope this bleeding stops soon." Tilda let her gaze drop and saw a bit of dried blood on Odessa's upper lip.

 "Because I wouldn't mind continuing where we left off." She said quietly but Odessa definitely heard her. It was a good thing she wasn't drinking anything at that moment because she was sure she would've choked. She looked up at Tilda in shock, who just smirked at her. They were suddenly interrupted by someone clearing their throat. 

"Do you need something for the pain?" The nurse asked when she got her attention. It took Odessa a moment to get her brain to work again.

"I'm good, thanks." She replied and took the tissue from Tilda's hand to apply a bit more pressure.  
The nurse nodded and grabbed a few more tissues from the table and held them out to Tilda. 

"The bleeding should stop soon, but just in case.... You're clear to go." She said when Tilda took it from her. 

"Oh, and try to be a bit more careful next time." She added with a wink and walked off to the other side of the room.

Tilda was speechless. When she turned her head to look at Odessa again she saw that her trademark smirk had returned, or a version of it that didn't require to move that much. Tilda raised her eyebrows in confusion. 

"What?" 

Odessa bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

"Your neck." She whispered and let her gaze drop to the brand new hickeys on Tilda's neck.

Tilda's cheeks turned bright red in a matter of seconds. Oh, shit. She's gonna have to cover that up before everyone else sees it.  
Odessa stood up and held out her free hand for Tilda to grab.

"Let's get out of here." 

Tilda accepted her hand and couldn't help but smile at the craziness of it all. She had never even dared to dream about a life like this. This _feeling_. This tiny bit of happiness in the middle of all the violence. It was bittersweet and Tilda never wanted it to stop.


End file.
